Antenna With Microprocessor Control and Drive

Abstract

An antenna for transmitting electromagnetic radiation. The antenna comprises a core further comprising at least one layer of contiguous core material and windings disposed on the core forming a plurality or winding segments. The windings define gaps between each winding segment. A microprocessor supplies current to the antenna in the form of a bit stream. The microprocessor controlling the current to control parameters of the bit stream, the parameters further comprising bit amplitude, bit width, bit rate, timing, delays, bit direction, bit order, and frequency. A material of the core comprises an amorphous or annealed material, further comprising metal or alloys, comprising one or more of nickel or nano-crystalline or nano-materials.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An antenna for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic energy, the antenna comprising:
 a dielectric substrate;   one or more conductive traces on a surface or surfaces of the dielectric substrate connected by one or more conductive vias extending through the dielectric substrate the one or more conductive traces operating as radiating elements for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic energy; and   a microprocessor for driving the antenna by supplying current to the antenna.   
     
     
         2 . The antenna of  claim 1  the dielectric substrate comprising multiple layers of dielectric material with the one or more conductive traces disposed on one or more of the multiple layers and a core material disposed between the one or more multiple layers of dielectric material. 
     
     
         3 . The antenna of  claim 1  the current supplied to the antenna comprising a bit stream, the microprocessor controlling the current to control parameters of the bit stream, the parameters further comprising one or more of bit amplitude, bit width, bit rate, timing, delays, bit direction, bit order, and frequency. 
     
     
         4 . The antenna of  claim 1  further comprising a core disposed within the dielectric substrate. 
     
     
         5 . The antenna of  claim 4  wherein a material of the core comprises an amorphous or annealed material, further comprising metal or alloys, comprising one or more nickel or nano-crystalline or nano-materials. 
     
     
         6 . The antenna of  claim 1  wherein the dielectric substrate comprises a flexible substrate. 
     
     
         7 . The antenna of  claim 1  further comprising one or both of reflecting elements and directing elements to shape electromagnetic radiation generated by the antenna. 
     
     
         8 . An antenna module comprising a first antenna according to  claim 1  and a second antenna operative as a sensor for sensing human touch or for sensing a magnetic read head. 
     
     
         9 . The antenna of  claim 1  further comprising a field shaping component. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus for generating an electromagnetic field, the apparatus comprising:
 an antenna further comprising:
 a substrate; 
 a core disposed on the substrate; 
 a continuous winding comprising turns encircling the core and the substrate, the continuous winding extending in a longitudinal direction along the antenna with a first gap defined between adjacent turns; 
 the turns segregated into a plurality of winding segments, each winding segment comprising a plurality of turns; 
 a second gap defined between adjacent winding segments, wherein the second gap is larger than the first gap; 
   a microprocessor comprising a plurality of output pins, the microprocessor for supplying current to the antenna through selected ones of the plurality of output pins.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10  the microprocessor controlling current supplied to the antenna, the data comprising a bit stream and control of the current determining one or more of a bit amplitude, a bit width, a bit rate, timing, delays, bit direction, bit order, and frequency. 
     
     
         12 . A card for reading by a magnetic field reader, the card comprising:
 an antenna for generating a magnetic field representing data for reading by the magnetic field reader;   a microprocessor for supplying current to the antenna, the current representing the data.   
     
     
         13 . The card of  claim 12  the microprocessor controlling current supplied to the antenna, the data comprising a bit stream and control of the current determining one or more of a bit amplitude, a bit width, a bit rate, timing, delays, bit direction, bit order, and frequency. 
     
     
         14 . The card of  claim 12  the microprocessor controlling a bit rate responsive to a card swipe speed of a user. 
     
     
         15 . The card of  claim 12  the microprocessor supplying current to the antenna responsive to a position of the antenna relative to the reader. 
     
     
         16 . The card of  claim 12  further comprising a proximity detector for detecting presence of the magnetic field reader. 
     
     
         17 . The card of  claim 12  the microprocessor supplying current to the antenna responsive to manual activation by a user. 
     
     
         18 . The card of  claim 12  further comprising a memory for storing data, a timeout period set by a user after which data stored in memory is erased. 
     
     
         19 . The card of  claim 12  further comprising a battery chargeable by energy received by the antenna. 
     
     
         20 . The card of  claim 12  a contact on each of opposing sides of the card, the card activated by a user pinching the contacts.